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well, i gotta start with a couple of funny stories that are so typical me that you just have to laugh: first off i went to toivel a crystal bowl and as i let go for a second to let the whole thing be toiveled, the inevitable happened, i bet your groaning to yourself bcz you know what is coming next, yup, i dropped the bowl. so i did what any good girl would, i immediately started trying to get that darn bowl out. so i tried getting it out with the handy dandy net that sits so innocently next to the mikveh for all of us dunces who manage to drop their dishes. so, I'm trying and trying sticking my arm in getting my entire arm sopping wet in the process. of course. so as I'm valiantly trying to get this bowl out. the rosh yeshiva( yes, we have a rosh yeshiva) pulls out and starts doing all his stuff, he notices that I'm slightly struggling, looks over and tries to offer some verbal help, when he notices that this is obviously not enough, he and his proceed to take off their jackets and ties, roll their sleeves up way up, trying to help me, all damsel in distress( which anybody who knows me knows i hate!)
oh, i forgot to mention that i had just come from the gym so I'm all sweaty, hair flying huge sweatshirt, yeah keep that in mind! finally, i tell them to forget it bcz they are going to be late for the afternoon prayer services. they make a mad dash for shul, you can just imagine, that i was dying from embarrassment and laughter from the hilarity of the sitch. next story, this one is much shorter, i was making sugar coated almonds and some how i managed to cut myself on the sugar- it was crystallized and all, not the granulated type. but still that is pretty talented if i do say so myself. so... my school did the story of sara schenierer as our play this year, i was not zoche to see it, however i did make it for the shabbat after which we ( current students and alum) came to our principal's house to discuss girls' questions abt sara schneirer and her life. one of the topics that came up was the difference between their generation and ours. the main diff is in the nature of our nisyonos. the generation of yore were struggling for their lives. they were tested and asked by G-d to keep believing in His existence even though all they saw was cruelty and death. every day was another battle of survival, will the bread last us the week? can we sleep in our beds without worry that we will wake up in the morning hamapil and modeh ani take on a whole new meaning when you dont know what horrors could occur while you hope to re-energize your collapsing body on a straw mattress.
Baruch Hashem, this is worlds apart from our lives. we live a life of plenty, a life of luxury, but this is exactly our nisayon. when we are so comfortable, we forget the One who gave us it all. you cannot compare the prayer of a beggar who has no idea where his next morsel is coming from to one with a fridge full of food. the latter doesn't feel that he needs to turn to Hashem to feed him, with his platinum credit card and a full pantry and fridge. he sees it, he's holding it in his hand- what does he need G-d for? so we go through the motions, we Daven twice a day. we say all the right things Baruch Hashem, Bli Ayin Hara, but do we really mean what we say or they just platitudes, habits, they have become part of our language, we dont even think about it twice, it just comes out in a blur so fast we dont even know what we are saying. so Hashem, says "fine, if you are not going to see Me when I give you plenty to make it easier to do My will, then I'm going to have to take it away, so you'll realize that it was Me who gave it to you in the first place."
then things aren't so rosy anymore and we turn to Him, it is the whole cycle that we know by heart in navi- sin-war-teshuva, etc. so this is the bracha our principal gave us- that we take the small pains that come in our lives( like cutting myself on the sugar-come on how random) as the divine signs they are so He doesn't have to send us bigger and more painful reminders. so this pesach, as we are surrounded by our families and friends just remember how blessed we really our and thank Hashem for all the good that u have, remember that your hair is a gift-you are not entitled to it, the chair you are sitting on is a gift there are those who are not as fortunate as you, take comfort in Hashem's love for you and all the good that He bestows upon you, just remember that it is a gift and to take every opportunity to connect. You can find Him in every part of your life if you take the time to look happy searching!